Quotes about God

No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus.  His personality pulsates in every word.  No myth is filled with such life."  Albert Einstien

Prayer is converse with God, equal honor with the Angels, progress in good things, averting of evils, righting of sinners.

Humble yourselves.  Do not think highly and you will attain high things.  The more gold is tested in the fire, the purer it becomes.  And the Christian, the more he is tried by temptations, the more his soul is purified.  The more deeply the plow tills the earth, the more often we prune and carefully tend the vines, the more and the sweetest fruit we will receive.

  I pray, you brother and sisters: let us strive with every means at our disposal to know ourselves.  Then each one of us, starting with this self knowledge, will be able to discover what is too high for us.  We need know ourselves so well that we can say like David: "I am worm and not a man " (Psalms 22:7) or like Abraham: "I am dust and ashes" (Genesis 18:7).  Otherwise it will be impossible to understand even the smallest part of the Word of God, to interpret it in a spiritual way worthy of the Spirit of wisdom.  Without humility it is not possible to become recipient of the gifts of the Spirit.    

Bear sorrows for the sake of the Heavenly Kingdom.  Without sorrows there is no salvation.  On the other hand, the Kingdom of God awaits those who have patiently endured.  And all the glory of the world is nothing in comparison.  My joy!  I implore you to acquire a peaceful spirit.

Therefore, we know about God that He loves and shows pity on His creatures, and also that He is the source of wisdom and knows how to govern everything concerning us.  Nothing is impossible for Him, but everything is subject to His will.  We must also realize that everything He does is for our benefit and we must accept it with thankfulness...as from a benefactor and a good lord even if is troublesome.  For everything is done with right judgment, and God, Who is merciful, does not overlook even the smallest sadness that we suffer.

You victorious martyrs who endured torments gladly for the sake of God and Savior, you who have boldness of speech toward the Lord Himself, you saints, intercede for us who are timid and sinful men, full of sloth, that the grace of Christ may come upon us, and enlighten the hearts of all of us so that we may love Him.

It is demanded of us, Christians, that we receive these heavenly and most sweet tidings {the Gospel} gratefully as they are sent from Heaven, and that from a pure heart we always give thanks to God our Benefactor,  Who so freely had mercy on us, and that we show holy obedience and compliance in all thankfulness.  For conscience itself instructs and convinces us to be thankful to our Benefactor.  He loved us who are unworthy.  Let us also love Him Who is worthy of all love.  Love requires that we never offend the beloved.  God is offended by every sin.  Let us keep away from every sin and let us do His holy will that we may not offend Him as our compassionate Father and Benefactor.

It often happens that someone sees himself sitting peacefully and quietly, but when his brother says a word that upsets him, he is troubled.  Thus, he thinks that he is justly upset with him, saying, 'If he hadn't come and spoken to me and troubled me, I wouldn't have sinned.'  But this is folly and absurdity.  Did the person that spoke to him give him that passion?  He simply showed him that the passion existed within him, so that, if he wanted to, he could repent of it.  He is like fine bread bread that shines on the outside, but when one breaks it, he see its moldeness.  In just the same way, he was sitting, as he thought, in peace, but he had this passion inside him he was unaware of.  His brother said one word and revealed the filth hidden inside him.  Therefore if he wants to receive mercy, he must repent, purify himself, progress and he must understand that he ought to thank his brother for being the great cause of his spiritual benefit.

In England, when people bow before the queen, they do so out of respect, but it does not imply any repentance.  But when we bow before Christ, it means that we are ready to empty ourselves from an evil mind, from any evil thought or act, or any evil thing in our lives.

Of course it would be easier to get to paradise with a full stomach, all snuggled up in a soft feather-bed, but what is required is to carry one's cross along the way, for the Kingdom of God is not attained by enduring one or two troubles, but many!

We have the power of the Holy Cross, our holy symbol, the divine grace of Christ, only as long as we have the holy marking of the Holy Baptism, meaning we have denied the devil and sided with Christ, and received the Holy Marking, the seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

Beware of greed and remain pure and just.  Restrain yourself from every vice.  He who cannot restrain himself, how will he be able to teach others restraint?

"We are fools for Christ's sake." (1 Corinthians 4:10)

Thus speaks the great Apostle Paul who in the beginning was guided by worldly wisdom, which is against Christ, until he recognizes the falsehood and decay of the wisdom of the world and the light and stability of the wisdom of Christ. Then, the holy apostle did not become angry with the world because they called him "a fool for Christ's sake" neither did he, in defiance of the world, hesitate to be called by this name.

It is not of any value to us how the world is going to regard or call us. However, it is important, and extremely important, how the holy angels in the heavens will regard and call us when, after death, we meet with them. This is of crucial importance and everything else is nothing.

Either we are fools for the world because of Christ or we are fools for Christ because of the world. O how short-lived is the sound of a word of the world! If the world would say to us "fool," the world will die and its word will die! What then is the value of its word? But if the heavenly, immortal ones say to us "fool," that will neither die nor is it removed from us as eternal condemnation.

Whoever does not believe in the Living God, nor in eternal life, nor in the Incarnation of the Lord Christ, nor in Christ's Resurrection nor in the truth of the Gospel nor in God's eternal mercy and justice - is it any wonder if he considers that one a fool who does believes in all of this?

O, may every one of us who cross ourselves with the Sign of the Cross not only find it easy to endure but with satisfaction receive the name "fool" for Christ's sake! Let us rejoice and be glad if the non-believers call us such, for that means that we are close to Christ and far away from the non-believers. Let us rejoice and be glad and repeat with a powerful echo in the ears of the world: yes, yes, indeed we are fools for Christ's sake!

O Lord Most-wise, strengthen us by Your power that we not fear the non-believing world neither when they lash us with whips nor when they insult us with words for Your sake.

Thy pure image do we venerate, O good One, asking forgiveness of our sins, O Christ our God; for by Thine own will Thou didst ascend the Cross in Thy body, to save Thy creatures from the bondage of the enemy.  Thou hast verily filled all with joy, since Thou didst come, O our Savior, to save the world.

Virtues are in the middle, the royal way about which the saintly elder (Saint Basil the Great) said, "Travel on the royal way and count the miles."  As I said, the virtues are at the midpoint between excess and laxness.  That is why it is written, "Do not turn to the right or the left" (Prov 4:27) but travel on the "royal way" (Num. 20:17).  Saint Basil also says, "The person who does not allow his thoughts to incline towards excess or deprivation but directs it to the midpoint, that of virtue, is upright in heart."

Like the apple of Thine eye preserve me, O Lord God; defend me and beneath Thy wings shelter me from temptations.

For this reason, we should, with all our strength, guide ourselves toward God's will and not trust in our own heart.  Even if there is a good thing to be done, but we have testimony of some saint that it is not good, we must on the one hand hold that which is good, but on the other, not trust in our ability to perform it properly in the way it should be done.  We must do all that we can, but at the same time, ask advice as how to do it.  After we have done it, we should ask if we have done it well, and even when we act thus must not be carefree but await the judgment of God.  As the saintly man, Abba Agathon said, when he was asked, "Are even you afraid, father?"  He replied, "I have done what I could but I do not know if my work pleased God.  God's judgment is one thing, and man's is another."  May God shelter us from danger of guiding ourselves, and make us worthy of our fathers.

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, meddling, lust of power, and idle talk.  But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant.  Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother; for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages.  Amen.

For every man, peace of soul is precious. With those who have attained peace of soul, the body can be in constant motion; in work, in pain, but their souls, affixed to God, always remain in unwavering peace. St. Seraphim of Sarov teaches: "It is necessary to concern oneself with all means in order to preserve peace of soul and not to be disturbed by the insults of others. That is why it is necessary, at all costs, to restrain yourself from anger with the help of vigilance over one's self, preserving the mind and heart from indecent movements. For preserving peace of soul, it is also necessary to avoid judging others. By not judging and by silence, peace of the soul is preserved. When a man is in such a state of mind, he receives divine revelations. In order for man to be preserved from judging others, he must be vigilant over himself; he must not receive from anyone non-spiritual thoughts and he should be dead toward everything worldly. We must tirelessly guard the heart from indecent thoughts and influences. `With closest custody, guard your heart for in it are the sources of life.'

(Proverbs 4:23). From perpetual vigilance over the heart, purity is born, in which the Lord is seen according to the words of eternal truth: `Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God' "(St. Matthew 5:8). 

We must see to it that our pleasing of others always ministers to their good in some way, edifies them, adds something to their character, and makes them braver, truer, and happier.  The world is full of discouraged people, and we have the power to say a hopeful word or do a kindness which will drive the discouragement from their hearts and move them again, with strength for brave, victorious, and songful living.  Love is the greatest thing in the world.  We are to see to it that everything we do and every influence of our life shall be for our neighbor's good.  We are bound so to live that we shall do hurt to none, but shall edify---add something to the life of everyone.

We cannot serve anyone with whom we have animosity.  This is why the Gospels stress forgiveness.  Our Lord even forgave those who crucified Him, crying out from the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)  If we are to serve the world, we must first be able to forgive everyone and anyone.  The slightest amount of unforgiveness or anger towards anyone is enough to keep us from God, for in God there is only love.

The kingdom of God is always present for him who desires and wills it.  When a man's disposition and way of life are like that of an angel, most assuredly this is the kingdom of God.  For God indeed is said to rule as King when nothing worldly meddles in the governing of our souls and when in every respect we live not in this world.  This manner of life we have within us, that is to say, we have within us when we desire and will of it.  We do not need to wait a long time, or until our departure from this life; instead, faith and a God-pleasing life, which accompanies faith, are very near us.

 

    Please, dear God of happiness, show the radiance of your spectrum to our world, which here means to forget everything.

 

      Who can know the absolute truth of illusion or emptiness? That is why we feel the fulfilled sense of this world.

 

  Who knows how many tears have flown in the Word of God from the creation of the world?

 

 Between world and animal are fewer questions than between man and world. How many such questions are there in God's Word?

 

       Never hide your fear because it will become your own God, hidden inside you.

 

      Blessed is he who believes in the illusion because thus he can find his great truth!

 

  What distances can be explored without God?